1115
Ned Rackham Espied the Derelict Score
FES Title: Ned Rackham espied the derelict score of captives on the cay
Alternate Titles: The Sloop Dropped Anchor; The Christmas Boat 1979; He Espied the Derelict Score of Captives on the Cay 2003; They Capered and Hugged Each Other
Date: 04/1922
Size: 36″H x 30″W
Medium: oil-cotton-canvas
Type: illustration
Published: Paine, Ralph D. “Blackbeard the Buccaneer.” The American Boy, July 1922: 13.
caption: He espied the derelict score of captives on the cay.

Paine, Ralph D. Blackbeard Buccaneer. Philadelphia: The Penn Publishing Company, 1922: 164.
caption: They capered and hugged each other.

“Sketch Book…featuring the work of outstanding Delaware artists.” Dateline Delaware, September-October 1960: 27.
caption: From “Privateers of America”. Marooned pirates, hopefully awaiting rescue. The work is owned by Donaldson Brown.

Schoonover, Cortlandt. Frank Schoonover, Illustrator of the North American Frontier. New York: Watson-Guptill Publications, 1976: 147.
caption: The Christmas Boat

Warden, Herbert W. In Praise of Sailors A Nautical Anthology of Art, Poetry, and Prose. New York: H.N. Abrams, 1978: 84.
no caption.

Brandywine River Museum. Frank E. Schoonover, Illustrator. Chadds Ford, PA: Brandywine River Museum, 1979: 47.

[not pictured]

Peltier, Melissa Jo, Jim Milo, Patrick Tull, and MPH Entertainment. Blackbeard’s Reign of Terror. Sea Tales. New York: A & E Home Video, 1997.

Inscription: lr: F.E. Schoonover / ’22
Annotations:
Exhibitions: 1979 FES (catalog); 2003 Farnsworth
Comments: TP4/14/03; form 4/14/03 (examined, not photographed); index; edit 11/06
It was remounted on linen
Commentary: Suspecting a mutiny afoot on his boat, Blackbeard, the ruthless pirate captain, ridded himself and his ‘loyal’ crew of the culprits by abandoning them on a deserted cay in the Atlantic Ocean. Fortunately for the ‘captives of the cay,’ rival pirate, Ned Rackham, sailed by. Seeing hope of rescue, the men grabbed any colorful rags they could find to attract attention. Schoonover has caught that moment of hope and excitement in this painting.
This work is also known as “The Christmas Boat” because it was used as the image for the Schoonovers’ Christmas card in 1922.
Provenance: Sold by artist to Donaldson Brown, Wilmington, Delaware (June 1927); Mr. and Mrs. Frank H. Mackie, Wilmington, Delaware (April 1959); Collection of the Delaware Art Museum, Wilmington, Delaware. Bequest of Frank H. Mackie, Jr. 1992